A/N:
Hey guys. So here is a lovely new update to THO, and I hope you like it!
~Erin
Chapter 39: We're Going Home
KLAUS POV
"We are storming the Abattoir tonight!" I announced into the living room as I finished my war speech. The crowd cheered, ready to rescue Caroline and to take back New Orleans as my home.
"Have we decided on who will take on each responsibility?" Naira, an acquaintance from Venezuela asked me. I nodded, and directed her towards Elijah. He had figured a plan on who would take what position, and was forking out assignments as we spoke.
"You've done well." A voice spoke behind me. Sheriff Forbes had finally emerged from her suite, after a long period of solitude.
"Thank you, Liz." I said, turning to face the love of my life's mother. She was dressed in her sweats and an old t-shirt, the most laid back I had ever seen the sheriff.
"Have you figured out what you're going to do if Tyler tries to defend Caroline?" Liz asked me. I hadn't yet told her of Tyler's betrayal, nor that her only daughter was slowly dying from a poisonous werewolf bite. I guess now was the time.
"I do not believe that will be coming between us and Caroline. He made his decision already." I spoke, and Liz gave me a crossed look.
"Tyler went through all this trouble to have Caroline for his own personal enjoyment. He wouldn't simply give her up. Tyler loved Caroline, to an obsessive level at times. Why would he give her up all the sudden?" Liz wondered aloud. That is when I broke the news to her.
"It seems Caroline refused Tyler's advances, and he became angered with her choice. He bit her, and if she is not saved in the next 12 hours, she will die." I came clean, and immediately a look of sheer horror fell upon Liz Forbes face. I could see her knees begin to physically shake, and I thought for a minute that I might have to catch her distressed form.
"She needs you, Klaus. And I need you to save her." Liz took no time to instruct me in the fact that her daughter needed saving. I motioned for one of my female allies, Zena, to assist Sheriff Forbes to a chair.
"As I have promised many times before, I will do everything in my power to save Caroline. Even if I have to kill every individual that gets in my way. She will be home soon, Liz. I will not let her die." I meant meant every word that came out of my mouth at that moment. Caroline's life was priority above all else at that moment.
"Thank you, Klaus." Liz thanked me, and I nodded in acceptance. Turning around, I announced our battle strategy. It was a time old battle plan, but one that I had never taught Marcellus. I had used it many times before, and it had served me well. If it worked correctly, tonight would be a major accomplishment on the road of my recapturing of New Orleans.
"Everyone, we need to gather our strongest defensemen. They are the ones who will storm the compound first, that way we will provide a distracting element to our attack. If you believe that you fit into this category, then please assemble yourselves in the west corner of the room. Elijah and myself will evaluate you, and see if we concur with your thoughts. We will work from there." I instructed the crowd in front of me. They all began to sort themselves into strength and weight groups.
In almost fifteen minutes, we had sorted all the males and females into different attack teams. I had also assigned Liliana the task of being Caroline's personal guardian as we worked through invading the Abattoir. If I were to get ambushed or distracted, it was Liliana's sole responsibility to get Caroline out alive and safe.
"Brother, I believe we are ready. Shall we proceed?" Elijah asked me once everyone had been assigned and checked in. I nodded solemnly.
"Marcellus will never know what hit him. We are coming, and we are coming now."
MARCEL POV
I sorted through the scattered papers on my desk, looking for the file and journals that I kept on Davina. My hope was that if Corrie got a better understanding of Davina's profile, so that way it would be easier to help her. I continued to shift through stacks, looking for that damn manilla folder.
"Marcel!" I heard a panicked voice banging against the door of my study, and immediately got up and unlocked the plank of oak. Diego, my second in command, stood there panting like he had just run a marathon. Panic swam in his eyes as he looked at me, and I prodded him for the disturbance.
"What's so urgent, man?" I asked the man, a bit annoyed by his sudden appearance. That is one of the reasons I had the walls of the study soundproofed. That way I could focus without distraction.
"Klaus. He's here, and he had brought an army. We're under attack."
KLAUS POV
We arrived at the gates of the Abattoirs courtyard at promptly 7:00, just as the sun was setting. My troops were bouncing with anticipation for battle, their senses peaked with either excitement or rage. I could not tell depending on the person. Waiting for the cue from Elijah, I stood at front of the crowd, the leader of the charge. Each division was standing in an assigned row, waiting for battle.
I knew battle was inevitable. My only hope was to get Caroline out unscathed. She had suffered too much in a battle that wasn't even hers. This was my chance to finally be the hero, even if it was a simple rescue of the woman that I loved. I wanted to redeem myself, and now was my chance. Finally, I saw the flash of Elijah's cellphone out of the corner of my eye. That was the signal.
"Attack." I shouted, and suddenly I was charging through the iron gates of the Abattoir, leading an army of bloodthirsty vampires. Immediately, I was met with a sudden opponent.
A starkly built male attacked me full force, his blonde dreadlocks flying as he threw a punch at my face. I caught his fist on instinct, and shoved it right back at his face. His skill and technique was lacking, and I easily defeated him by snapping his neck in one fluid motion. I was not here to kill, only to save Caroline. The instinct was there, but I tried my best to ignore it as yet another vampire attacked.
This was a young brunette, with startling emerald eyes. Her first position of attack was a simple roundhouse kick, which I was not expecting. I regained my composure, and promptly began to defeat yet another weak vampire. Out of my peripheral vision, I could Liliana trying to fend off a male attacker. When she snapped her attacker's neck, I spoke to her through exasperated yells.
"Find Caroline!" I shouted, and Liliana nodded before dashing off into the crowd of battle. The girl who was attempting the fight me was pitiful as I simply removed her heart in one feral sweep. I didn't have access to her neck, otherwise I would have simply snapped it.
I looked around at my surroundings. Marcel's fighters were severely outnumbered by my many allies, and they were beginning to retreat into the Abattoirs interior. I tried to find a place that they would be able to keep prisoners, and then I remembered the cells in the basement that Elijah had had constructed. Leaving the battlegrounds, I went in pursuit of saving the love of my life.
MARCEL POV
"Send out our best defense. Half to team is out scouting for werewolves and we're getting attacked. Lovely." I groaned as I watched the battle scene unfold from the window in my study. Diego nodded at my directions, and burst out the door at vampire speed.I couldn't help but shake my head at the situation. This was Klaus's doing, and he was going to pay for the destruction he was causing.
Leaving the study, I left for the one place I knew he was going to look. Klaus was after a special blonde vampire, who was dying in a dirty cell in the basement. Klaus knew that's where I would be keeping her, and that's where I was going to give Klaus a beating that would make him remember not to mess with me. As I headed towards the basement, my ears were met with the sound of crashing feet against the compounds antique oak floors. They had invaded the interior, and my train of thought radiated to Davina. I stopped in my tracks, and immediately I turned down the hall on which Davina's room was located. She was a top priority, and I needed to protect her.
My speed increased as I got to her door, and my fist pounded against the wood to get her attention. I heard rustling, and heard Davina's door unlock. When she opened it, I automatically began to instruct her on what was happening, and the plan for her safe escape.
"I want you to go through the left stairwell and down to the servants quarters. There is an exit that leads into the alley behind the compound. Be careful, and don't let anybody see you." I told her hastily. Davina's blue eyes shone with concern, but I couldn't give in to her pleas let her help with the attack. I ushered her back down the opposite end of the hall, and to the door of the hidden stairwell.
After Davina had successfully made it to the bottom of the stairwell, I went back to fight the battle Klaus had initiated. And this time, I was going to win.
CAROLINE POV
I was beyond groggy. I was lucid, and felt like I was floating. The pain had faded to a dull beat, and I knew that I only had a little amount of time to live. The poison was invading my system at an alarming rate, and Klaus wasn't anywhere near here. I was going to die in this cell, alone and miserable. There was so many things I wanted to do, and so many things I still wanted to say. But I would never get my chance.
I could hear the pounding of feet above me, but it was probably just members of Marcel's distorted family. They didn't care if I died down here. My life was just collateral damage, and Marcel knew that. It wasn't until I heard a distant voice calling my name, making me become more alert of my surroundings. As alert as I could be at that moment, that is.
"Caroline?" A feminine voice called my name, and I weakly looked up through the cell's bars. I vaguely recognized the face that was calling my name. Her gray, almost silver hair was wrapped into a tight topknot. She was blurrily dressed in all black, but her face was hard to make out.
"Hmmm." I groaned. That was all sound I could make, I felt so weak.
"Caroline, thank goodness. It's me, Liliana. I'm going to get you out of here, and then Lord Niklaus is going to take you home. You're going to be alright." I heard the woman speak to me as she tried to wrestle the chains of the cell's doors. Metal clanked against metal as the padlock fell away, and Liliana entered my prison.
"Come on, Caroline. Let's get home." Liliana helped me up from the corner where I had been slowly wilting away. I was wobbly and unbalanced from my injury, but Liliana took most of my weight on her own as she led me out of the musty prison. We made it to what seemed to be stairs before my knees buckled. Liliana helped me up though, and we continued up the stairs.
"Where's Klaus?" I mumbled, and Liliana smiled at me.
"Don't worry. He'll be here soon."
KLAUS POV
I searched through the familiar rooms of the compound, looking for any sign of Caroline. My nose was catching small snippets of her scent as I passed through the halls. The sounds of battle were erupting in my eardrums, and that only made me push harder in my search for Caroline. Searching through another room, suddenly her scent was much stronger. Looking around, I tried to pinpoint the direction. But she found me.
"Klaus! Help!" I heard Liliana's voice calling, and without even a breath of hesitation I rushed towards the sound of her cries. When I reached her, I was relieved to see Caroline slumped against Liliana's shoulder.
The wound at Caroline's neck was festering with infection, and her normally even peaches and cream complexion had faded into a frightening milky white. I helped Liliana by taking half of Caroline's weight before I asked her what had happened.
"We need to get her out of here. She's hallucinating and her strength is minimal at best. Marcel deprived her of blood, and the poison of the venom in her system is killing her by the second." Liliana informed me, and I nodded in understanding. I helped Liliana walk Caroline towards a door that led out into the courtyard, where Elijah was waiting with a car to escort Caroline home.
"Come on." I said, and we worked our way down the wrought iron stairs. The courtyard was littered with bodies, and none of them seemed to be any of our allies. I covered Caroline's eyes so that she wouldn't see the gore of the scene. Even if she was delirious due to the werewolf bite, I did not want to complicate the situation any more.
"Here we go." Liliana and myself we able to maneuver Caroline into the backseat of the SUV. Elijah sat in the driver's seat, and Liliana slid in the passenger seat. I was left in the back, cradling Caroline's matted golden curls in my lap. She was burning up, mumbling incoherently about God knows what.
Instantly, I bit my wrist and placed it against Caroline's chapped lips. She suddenly began drinking, absorbing my blood into her body as it healed her. I saw the werewolf bit slowly heal, along with the minor cuts and abrasions that decorated her skin.
"How is she, Niklaus?" Elijah asked me before starting the car.
"She's healing. Where are the rest of our allies? I have no ideas if there were any casualties." I replied, and Elijah nodded.
"You and Liliana were the last ones out. It seems that Marcellus fled when he discovered that he was outnumbered by our army. There were casualties to Marcellus's family, but none on our side. Everyone has headed back to their respective abodes, and are awaiting information from you." Elijah pulled out of the alley and onto the road.
"I will contact them once Caroline has regained her strength. My attention is needed solely on her and her recovery." I spoke, and Elijah nodded understandingly.
Caroline began to stir in my arms, obviously content with my blood that she had consumed. Stroking her hair, I whispered softly in her ear.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. We're going home."
A/N:
So...sorry this chapter had a LOT of changes for POV's, but I felt it was essential to understand the depth of this chapter. Well,yeah. Hope you liked!
~Erin